This past June 22, socialist Fernando Lugo, who was the Paraguayan President, was displaced by the Senate after this year’s chamber did an impeachment due to his apparently poor work. Thirty-nine senators voted for his displacement, four against and two remained neutral. Therefore, he also lost the backup from his own party deputies. Now, the question is whether or not this movement was legal.

Lugo, who was the man who finished with the 61 year mandate of the Colorado Party in Paraguay, did not have a pleasant term, since he was disputed since the beginning of his legislature. He followed a similar term as his Ecuador and Venezuela homologues, which was not well accepted by the Paraguayan politics caste. What politicians did not like was the fact that Lugo gave more rights to the Guarani population. The scandal of having a child during his term as a Catholic bishop also did not help Lugo’s reputation. The detonation took place on June 15, when 17 Paraguayans died in the eviction of a field that was taken by peasants.

Citizens reactions to Lugo’s removal was to go to the street to complain about this fact, which some saw as a coup d’etat. Around 10,000 Paraguayans went to the Vice president’s headquarters in order to protest. However, it is not just citizens who saw this chess move as illegal. Some countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela have also described Lugo’s removal as a coup d’etat. The reprisal did not take long to come: Paraguay was sent out off the Mercosur, the group that regulates Latin American’s market.

However, there are some voices that claim Lugo’s removal was constitutional. In fact, the Paraguayan Constitution guarantees that the president can be removed by the Senate. Therefore, it was a sovereign decision. According to Forbes journalist, Thor Halvorssen, “since there was no violence or coercion involved in the ousting of Lugo, it was not a coup d’état.” Halvorssen also reminds readers in his article that Paraguay’s constitution article 225 gives Congress the power to remove the President under certain circumstances. Then, on June 21, the Senate formally accused President Lugo for a poor performance of his duties, which led to Lugo’s removal.

Lugo’s dismissal process just took 48 hours. He called himself an “express coup d’etat.” He lost all of his support in a day and a half. However, it seems that his removal was being prepared since 3 years ago. A diplomatic cable from the United States revealed by Wikileaks says that Paraguayan right wing was conspiring and preparing this impeachment since long time ago.

Former president Lugo has recently been interviewed by the Bolivian newspaper “El Deber de Bolivia.” He said there that the impeachment that he went through could be compared to Jesus Christ’s judgment. “It would be presumptuous to compare myself with Jesus, but there is some similarity, right? I ended up not crucified, but following his teachings, I more or less went through to a similar process than he did, “said Lugo.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez threatened Paraguay with cutting their fuel supply, which represents 30% of the entire country’s supply. However, according to Petropar chief, Sergio Escobar, the Venezuelan company will not cut its regular shipments of fuel to Paraguay.

It is the second time in the last lustrum where a President was displaced by controversial means. First, it was Honduran President Celaya dismissal, which opened a dangerous record on history, since it captured the idea that citizen’s decisions are a lower priory compared to those from politicians. Now it was Paraguay’s turn.

There will be elections in Paraguay in April 2013. There were some rumors that said these could take place earlier, but the OEA has said that elections will take place in April, and that Federico Franco will remain as President until they take place.

Image Courtesy of Marcello Casal Jr./Agência Brasil (Agência Brasil) [CC-BY-3.0-br], via Wikimedia Commons

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The Venezuelan electoral campaign for the October 7 elections have just begun. This will be one of the most watched elections since Hugo Chavez came to power 12 years ago. After this long term mandate, President Chavez will again be the United Socialist Party of Venezuela party candidate.

Chavez, who has been in power during two consecutive legislatures, will have the chance to become President for the third time in a row, something that was not possible before 2009 when the amendment that precluded mandates longer than two legislatures was erased.

The other main option for Venezuelans is the one led by the Democratic Unity Roundtable, a political party coalition that was formed in January 2008, to unify the opposition to President Chavez in the Venezuelan parliamentary elections.

The DUR head is Henrique Capriles, but there are other strong figures within the party, such as the independent deputy Maria Corina Machado.

Chavez, age 57, who is still recovering from his cancer, made an speech in the Maracay city to his voters. “In the next 100 days, the next 100 years in Venezuela are going to be decided” said Chavez, who is already campaigning.

Chavez speech was loyal to his style. He made a call against bourgeoisie, and his anti-Americanism feeling came once more to appearance: “We just need ten million votes to hit on the bourgeoisie and give them their final knockout. A knockout that will also hit to the North American Empire.” He also appealed to their voters to spread Chaves’ words in order to get more votes.

According the Consulters 21, Vice President, Saul Cabrera, surveys say that President Chavez counts with the 45,9% vote intention. In the other side, surveys says that 45,8% of voters will go for Henrique Capriles, who is having a better reputation as days passes by.

But the DUR opposition party does not give up, despite what surveys says. In fact, they do not pay too much attention to them, and say that these surveys are made to discourage and demobilize the opposition.

DUR also blames Chavez for having a totally dominated society, an slavery country. “But this country has opened their eyes,” said Maria Corina Machado to Spanish ABC. “Venezuela needs investors and trust, and that is what Capriles represents,” said Corina Machado, who also remembered that Chavez can not rule a country due to his health state.

Candidate Capriles wrote a column for a Venezuelan newspaper that blamed Chavez for “keep on talking about the same as 12 years and blaming others instead of looking at himself.”

The five states that have more voters according to the final Electoral Register, are Zulia, Miranda, Capital District, Carabobo and Lara, from which four of them are run by governors of the opposition.

Zulia (2,334,529 voters), Miranda (1,950,657), Carabobo (1,516,240) and Lara (1,197,690), which represents 37% of voters nationwide, are the states where opposition governs. Capital District ranks third, with 1,608,976 voters.

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A cancerous tumor was discovered in Luiz Inacio da Silva’s larynx on Saturday. Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela, is familiar with the health crisis that Silva, the former Brazilian leader, currently faces. Chavez has had problems with cancer in the past; he has been recovering from chemotherapy and a previous surgery in June, where a malignant tumor was removed from his pelvic region.

Chavez sent a message of solidarity to the former Brazilian president in response to his diagnosis on Sunday and expressed hope for a speedy recovery from the chemotherapy Silva would soon be undergoing. Silva is considered to be in good condition and his chemotherapy and treatment will begin on an outpatient basis.

His diagnosis undermined speculation that he would be running for president again in 2014. During his previous presidential reign, Silva was responsible for the unemployment rate dropping to a record low, cutting the country’s inflation rate by more than half, and bringing up 21 million Brazilians from poverty. He was the most popular Brazilian president ever and served two presidential terms.

Though he stepped down as president, Silva still participates in politics and is the honorary head of the Worker’s Party. His successor, Dilma Rousseff, continues to consult him over political matters. She, too, was treated for cancer in 2009. Doctors informed Finance Minister Guido Mantega that Silva’s cancer was caught in its early stages.

It is possible for throat cancer to be cured in 90 percent of the people diagnosed with it, as long as it is caught early. Smoking and excessively drinking increase the risk of throat cancer. Silva has admitted to smoking in the past. If the cancer pervades into the lymph nodes and surrounding tissues, only 60 percent of patients can be cured.

Rousseff is confident that Silva will make a complete recovery. She survived having lymphoma herself. Silva’s tumor is not large, according to Artur Katz, the oncologist treating Silva. It measures between two and three centimeters. Chavez commented that he will be praying for Silva’s recovery and will closely follow his medical situation, just as Silva did when Chavez was battling cancer.

Chavez claims to be free of cancer now, but a Venezuelan doctor who treated him in the past insists he only has a couple of years to live. The doctor has since fled the country out of fear for his life, and Chavez denies his claims and denounces him as a liar. Silva’s physician, Dr. Roberto Kalil, says that the Brazilian leader is meeting this challenge with a positive attitude.

“He’s very calm. Obviously, at first, there was anxiety, a shock. He arrived in excellent spirits, in his usual way, extremely confident,” said Kalil. It will take around 40 days to observe how Silva’s tumor will respond to chemotherapy.

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